Unit 1 First Falf And Unit 2 Intro

Front 1

Sling Psychrometer

Back 1

This is the instrument used to measure humidity. It is composed of one dry bulb and one wet bulb. The principle behind this instrument is the rate at which the water evaporates from the wet bulb. The temperature of the wet bulb temperature will never be higher than that of the dry bulb because when the water evaporates it takes with it heat, therefore robbing the bulb of some of it's heat, and causing a lower temperature than the dry bulb which is not affected by evaporation.

Front 2

Why are do you feel warmer on muggy days?

Back 2

You feel warmer because your sweat is not evaporating. Sweat cools you when you start to heat because when the sweat evaporates it takes energy with it, cooling your hot skin. When it is very humid, your sweat is not evaporating as much because the air is so closer to saturation.

Front 3

Specific Humidity

Back 3

The amount of water vapor in a specific portion of air. It does not, however, tell you how close to saturation the air is.

Front 4

Relative Humidity

Back 4

Relative humidity shows how close the air is to saturation. For example, it is like a jar filled with sand. Instead of telling you how much sand is in the jar, it tells you how close the jar is to being filled. Relative humidity is dependant on temperature. As the temperature decreases, so does the air's capacity, therefore increasing the relative humidity. The higher the relative humidity, the less cooling it takes to reach dew point.
relative humidity may be calculated by doing the specific humidity/capacity and then multiplying it by 100.

Front 5

Hail

Back 5

A form of precipitation. Irregular ice balls that are caught in up-drafts. They form layers based on how many times they are caught and released from these updrafts.

Front 6

Cyclones

Back 6

Areas of low pressure. Air rises and spins inward, counter clockwise. On weather maps they appear to be composed of close together isobars with steep pressure gradients.

Front 7

Anti-Cyclones

Back 7

Are areas of high pressure. Air falls and spins outward in a clockwise direction. On weather maps they appear to be composed of farther apart isobars.

Front 8

Isobars

Back 8

Isobars are constantly moving lines that indicate areas of equal pressure. Close together isobars indicate areas of low pressure. These steep pressure gradients experience fast winds and lots of rain and/or snow. Far apart isobars indicate high pressure areas.

Front 9

Variables that effect wind speed

Back 9

- Pressure differences
Greater pressure difference=more speed
- the Coriolis effect
Rotation of earth causing turned deflection of motion
- friction
When a movement along another mass causes the original moving mass to slow down.

Front 10

Cloud Formation

Back 10

Clouds form when several conditions are present. There must be condensation nuclei (such as dust) in the air for vapor to condense onto, the air must be saturated [also described as dew point]. Clouds form when air is being lifted through lifting mechanisms such as orographic lifting (mountains force air up) frontal wedging and convection (makes air less dense so it rises).

Front 11

Dry Adiabatic Rate

Back 11

The temperature decrease in a pocket of air as it rises in altitude before the air reaches 100% relative humidity (saturation). It is never lower than it's wet counterpart.

Front 12

Wet Adiabatic Rate

Back 12

The temperature decrease in a pocket of air as it rises when it reaches saturation. It is always smaller than its dry counterpart because the condensation of water vapor in the air creates latent heat, counteracting the cooling effects that occur as air increases in altitude, resulting in a slower rate of decline in temperature per kilometer.

Front 13

Stable Air

Back 13

Air that's at/below the temperature of that of the surrounding air.

Front 14

Unstable Air

Back 14

Air that is above the temperature of its surrounding air.

Front 15

What is wind?

Back 15

It is a result of differences of air pressure; areas of high pressure move to low pressure. The sun is the ultimate source of energy for wind.

Front 16

Coriolis at Equator

Back 16

Is being exposed to the most sun, the air is being heated, creating an area of low pressure. The hot air rises, and low pressure air rushes in to replace it. The weather is rainy, which accounts for the vast amount of rain forests, and windy.

Front 17

30 degrees Coriolis

Back 17

Area of high pressure, winds are flowing towards equator and 60 degrees coriolis because wind flows from high to low pressure. It is not very windy here and it is dry with little precipitation, causing many deserts here.

Front 18

60 degrees Coriolis

Back 18

An area of low pressure. Here is the polar front, where high pressure is colliding, wedging the air up, forcing it to rise (frontal wedging), causing a band of low pressure.

Front 19

90 degrees Coriolis

Back 19

High pressure. This is because it is very cold, and there is very little precipitation that occurs here.

Front 20

Why does the Wind blow from the sea to the land in the Morning but from land to the sea at Night?

Back 20

Since the land is a better absorber of heat than water is, the land heats at a faster rate, which causes the land to be hotter than the water during the morning. The air above the sand is heated by convection, causing it to become less dense and rise. The air above the water then rushes in to replace it, rushing from the sea to the land. The air above the sea pressure, relatively, is colder than that of the land during the morning. Thus, since high pressure moves to low pressure, the wind is towards the land in the morning. But during night, there is no sunlight, so the land and water cool down. The land cools down at a much faster rate than the water does (the water temperature barely changes), so eventually the land will be colder than the sea. Thus, thes wind will be flowing from the land to the sea.

Front 21

Warm Front

Back 21

Forms when warm air moves into an area where colder air used to be. There are usually stratus clouds coupled with rain/snow. They have a gradual slope of temperature increase. On the map they look like red lines with red semi circles pointing to the cooler air.

Front 22

Cold Front

Back 22

Forms when cool air moves into an area where warm air previousely was. There are typically cumulonimbus clouds, downpours and lots of wind. The temperature decrease (slope) of a cold front is rapid. They can be identified on a map by a blue line with blue triangles pointing to the warmer air.

Front 23

Stationary Front

Back 23

Forms when the surface position of a front does not move. It is usually marked by gentle to moderate weather. they appear on weather maps as a line with both blue triangles pointing to warmer air and red semi circles pointing to the cooler air.

Front 24

Occluded Front

Back 24

Forms when a faster moving cold front overtakes a slower moving warm front. With a steeper front, the cold front manages to push the warm air that was causing the previous warm front above the cold air. Weather during this front varies and is unpredictable.

Front 25

Mid-lattitude Cyclone

Back 25

A large area of low pressure that usually travels from west to east and causes stormy weather. They have a cold or warm front at the center, and they mover counterclockwise towards it. An occluded front usually marks the end of this natural phenomenon.

Front 26

Air pressure Measurement

Back 26

Measured in Millibars using a Micrometer

Front 27

Sources of Wind

Back 27

Solar Energy: Heats air and creates areas of low pressure and high pressure relatively.

Front 28

Rain/Drizzle

Back 28

Between .5-2 inches of precipitation. Rain droplets must have condensation nuclei to coalesce on.

Front 29

Snow

Back 29

Needs a condensation nuclei, must be 0 degrees Celsius or below in all levels of atmosphere. Snowflakes may be formed by collision coalescence or by the bergeron process.

Front 30

Cumulus

Back 30

puffy clouds (heaps) associated with cold fronts.

Front 31

Stratus

Back 31

Flat clouds, thin layers

Front 32

Cirrus

Back 32

Wispy, thin, associated with warm fronts

Front 33

Cumulonimbus

Back 33

Towering clouds that are in all levels of the atmosphere. Have flat heads. They appear gray and cause extreme weather (hail, thunderstorms, etc.)

Front 34

Alto

Back 34

Prefix for middle altitude atmosphere

Front 35

Cirro

Back 35

Prefix for clouds in upper atmosphere

Front 36

Temperature Inversion

Back 36

Usually occurs when there is an occluded front, wedging warm air so that warm air is above the cold air.